David Yoder, of Black Diamond Acres kennel at 5929 Route 414, is the focus of separate investigations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Seneca County sheriff’s department, according to authorities from those agencies.

Yoder, according to a

USDA inspection report filed July 15, poisoned five or six of his dogs at a time. He placed the animals in a whelping box and then piped exhaust fumes from a small gasoline engine into the box, the report said. The fumes contained poisonous levels of carbon monoxide.

“I was sick, just sick to think about the horrors the animals went through and I was pretty angry it happened. I was horrified. That must have been a very painful and long death,’’ Jenny McWhorter, Seneca County SPCA director, said.

Yoder left each group unattended for several minutes because he would get headaches apparently from the fumes, according to the report, which was filed after an unannounced inspection. The fumes also spread into a larger, nearby kennel area where other dogs could not get away, the report said.

Yoder, after checking the dogs with a stethoscope to see if the dogs were dead, buried the animals, the report said.

The dogs were killed sometime after a June 29 inspection when Yoder was ordered to get his dogs tested and treated for Brucellosis (earlier tests indicated some of his dogs had the contagious disease) and before the inspection on July 15. Brucellosis is a highly contagious bacterial disease that is more common in animals than people, according to the state Health Department.

Seneca County has a large Amish population, and some are involved in dog breeding. Yoder, who is Amish, bred poodles, Bichons, Maltese and Boston Terriers.

McWhorter met earlier in the day with Sheriff Jack Stenberg to discuss the report’s findings. Stenberg said his office is starting an investigation and plans to interview Yoder soon.

No charges had been filed, Stenberg said.

It’s against state Agriculture and Markets law for any person to poison a dog or cat with exhaust fumes from a gasoline engine, a state official said. Also, the federal Animal Welfare Act only allows for licensed veterinarians to destroy dogs, according to Dave Sacks, a spokesman for the USDA.

Yoder, who surrendered his breeder's license in July, could be fined up to $10,000 for every violation of the federal act if he is found guilty of violating the animal welfare act, Sacks said.